Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-01-08
RIIODORA.

ut the farther end, where stood three gen
tlemen leisurely talking. They had beer
watching the boat as it came UP the river
and were among the first to announce
that the smoke of the steamer had been
seen. Two of them wore the uniform OF
the United States army; the third tall
handsome fellow with a tawny mustache
was dressed in suit of gray tweed and
wore a dark slouch hat, which he drew
down over his eyes every now and then,
as if to shade them more effectually. The
least break in the dull monotony of garri.
son life was welcomed as a godsend, and
the three men had come down here purely
for amusement
Look, Halstead," said one Of the
officers, plucking the sleeve of the man in
gray, there's pretty girl"
The man addressed and the other officer,
Capt. Greene, looked upward and saw a
tall, finely formed girl standing by the
steamers railing Her brown hair fell
in soft rings over a low forehead, her
mouth was large but beautifully shaped,
and row of pearly white teeth was dis
closed by her parted lips, her nose was a
trifie saucy, but her eyes-her eyes were
a mystery.
''She is stylish girl" said Capt.
Greene, but so much depends upon the
eyes. Can't give an opinion until / see
her eyes, you know"
80 botherr' said Lieut.. Rodney you
couldn't see her eyes from this distance,
even if she didn't have that thing up"
II think she is Detroit girl, :" said the
man they called Halstead.
All three laughed at this. and Lieut.
Rodney said:
"You think it highly improper for a
young lady to be gazing around in that
manner through pair of opera glasses,
hence you Immediately set her down as q
Detroit girl-your bette noirer'
Exactly" replied Halstead slowly.
The laughter evidently attracted the
attention of the young lady, for she turned
her glasses in that direction; but as her
eyes fell upon the group the expression Of
her face instantly changed to look Of
disgust, and turning abruptly she entered
the cabin.
Each of the men noticed it. Not one
OF them mentioned it. Each knew that
he could not be the cause of this disgust.
Il can't see why you should have such
a strong aversion to Detroit girls, said
Capt. Greene, turning to Halstead. They
are supposed to be remarkably pretty and
bewitchingn--
Don't, beg of you," said Halstead,
holding up his hands deprecatingly.
Ever since we came in | have heard
nothing but Detroit girls, Detroit girls-I
suppose well get stack of them in
our regiment. They always marry in the
army. Detroit is the mOther-in-law Of
the army. You can't tell me anything
about them that dom know. l wouldn't
care to meet Detroit girl
4 pair of large gray eyes with dark,
curling lashes were turned in wide aston
ishment upon Lieut.. Halstead as tall
girl in brown swept past him, accom-
panied by a handsome elderly lady, but
none OF the group noticed the young girl
to whom they had given so much atten-
ton few moments since, and Halstead
went on: Perhaps there are some excep-
tions to the rule, but doubt it"
"Ah," laughsd Lieut.. Rodney, Hal
stead is preparing to slip in on an excep-
ton"
Nothing of the kind, " said Lieut.. Hal
stead, and to prove it We'll take a wager
that won't be introduced TO a Detroit
girl this season"
Taken" they cried, and prepared TO
settle the amount of the wager.
Meantime Mrs. Black and her1daugh
ter had arrived at the Hotel de Vile and
been taken TO their apartments, where
Blanche Rosenfelt burst in upon them
and. after embracing them superlatiyely.
seated herself, out of breath, saying: 80
Rhodora. I'm so delighted you camel We
have been here just two weeks, and it's
distractingly lovely this year. Wen have
no end of fun"
To which Miss Rhodora replied: at is
nice to see you, Blanche, but l am not
one bit glad we came. We've been here
every summer since was born. / couldn't
bear to get off the boat"
But you'll like il immensely this year
The hotel is quite full and the people at
the fort are perfectly lovely; you'll be
charmed with them, and"-
al won't. fairly hate every one Of
them
"why, they are all delightful people,"
said Miss Rosenfelt, with an air of sur
prise They only came in from those
hOrrid plains two months ago"
II don't care. They are miserable
lot II it hadn't been for them might
have had a lovely time this summer-l
needn't have come here-but they have
Just spoiled everything. l wish they d go
back where they came from"
During this conversation Mrs. Black
had gone to her room and Miss Rhodora
had divested herself Of a large halo hat
and pair OF long tan gloves; then she
had opened the closet door and counted
the hooks. had opened the bureau draw
ers, and finding things satisfactory and
her trunks not yet come she seated her
self in a chair by the window and ex-
planned: "You see, | was to have visited
Bessie at Fort Porter this summer, and
we had made endless plans, when sud
denly their regiment was ordered to eX-
change places with this old thing, and all
our lovely times vanished. | begged
mother not to come TO this poky place,
but father is devoted to flshing-he never
caught anything yet-and it isn't too far
for him to run up here from Detroit; so
here we are. / know | shall have
miserable time
mo, you won't" said her friend reas-
suringly. "It's just bewitching out on
the river in the moonlight, and here's
Lieut.. Rodney at the fort that's just too
handsome, and
80 therel Excuse me, Blanche, but i
think that's the man with our trunks"
and Miss Black hastened to look after the
baggage.
A little later, as Mrs. Black and her
daughter were about to enter the dining
room, the former waited for some one to
come up to them and then said; "Rhodora,
let me introduce you to Capt. Greene. He
and your Uncle Will were old comrades" "
"How do you do said Miss Black,
trying to call up n smile for the sake OF
her Uncle VIII They found themselves
seated at Capt. Greene's table, and in
few moments the waiter drew out the
chair opposite for tall gentleman with
tawny mustache and dark brown eyes;
his un form denoted the rank Of first lieu
tenant Rhodora had seen him before
and had admired him, but she saw now,
with little start, that it was the gentle
man in gray. who had changed his tweed
for the Objectionable blue. He was in
troduced TO her mother, but Capt Greene
did not present him to Miss Rhodora,
which sent q rush OF blood to her neck
and cheeks; il also broke her silence. and